Plagiotremus goslinei
{{Short description|Species of fish}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = 2017-06-01b-38925.jpg
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| taxon = Plagiotremus goslinei
| authority = (Strasburg, 1956)
| synonyms = Runula goslinei Strasburg, 1956
}}
Plagiotremus goslinei, commonly known as the biting blenny, Gosline's fangblenny, the scale-eating blenny, the Ewa fang blenny,{{Cite web |date=18 September 2016 |title=onebreathkohala |url=https://onebreathkohala.wordpress.com/tag/ewa-fang-blenny/ |website=wordpress}}{{Cite web |last=Perrine |first=Doug |title=Doug Perrine Photography |url=https://dougperrine.photoshelter.com/image/I0000rxVTg7HVCuQ}} the blue-stripe blenny, or the scale-eating fang blenny, is a species of combtooth blenny. The species epithet honours the American ichthyologist William A. Gosline (1915-2002) of the University of Hawaiʻi.{{cite web | url = http://www.etyfish.org/blenniiformes2/ | title = Order BLENNIIFORMES: Family BLENNIIDAE | work = The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database | accessdate = 7 April 2019 | date = 26 October 2018 | author1 = Christopher Scharpf | author2 = Kenneth J. Lazara | publisher = Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara}}
Description
This species reaches a length of {{cvt|6.3|cm|in}} SL.{{FishBase species |genus= Plagiotremus|species= goslinei| month = February | year = 2013}} The biting blenny is also known as the striped blenny for the bright blue stripes that run down its body. The biting blenny has two large canines on its bottom jaw.{{Cite web |last=Wingerter |first=Kenneth |date=2 May 2012 |title=Aquarium Fish: An Overview of Fang Blennies of the genus Meiacanthus |url=https://reefs.com/magazine/aquarium-fish-an-overview-of-fang-blennies-of-the-genus-meiacanthus/#:~:text=Gut%20content%20analysis%20of%20wild,and%20perhaps%20even%20coral%20mucus |website=reefs.com}} This fish's sharp fangs can, when it is eaten by larger fish, hold on to the esophagus to prevent itself from being swallowed.{{Cite web |last=Guardians |first=Reef |date=1 Mar 2021 |title=Reef Guardians Hawaii |url=https://www.facebook.com/ReefGuardiansHawaii/posts/so-this-is-the-ewa-fang-blenny-i-see-no-fangs-the-fang-blenny-keeps-its-powerful/2514844758817248/ |website=Facebook}} These fangs can also be poisonous, giving the receiver an opioid poison.
Habitat and distribution
The biting blenny is found in coral reefs in Hawaii and in the eastern central Pacific Ocean.{{Cite web |last=Randall |first=John |title=Plagiotremus goslinei |url=https://learninglab.si.edu/resources/view/3135608#more-info |website=Smithsonian Learning Lab}}
Diet
The diet of the biting blenny is diverse. It consists of mucus, scales, and skin tissue of larger fish, shrimp, small crustaceans, worms, zooplankton, and fish eggs.{{Cite web |title=Plagiotremus goslinei |url=https://www.reeflex.net/tiere/14198_Plagiotremus_goslinei.htm}} The biting blenny sneaks up behind larger fish and takes bites out of their backs and sides.
Population
The biting blenny is currently stable and abundant around the warm waters surrounding the Hawaiian Islands. It is considered a least concerned population.